The present invention relates to golf club grips and, in particular, to a golf club grip with an improved configuration.
The game of golf is played using a golf ball and a variety of different golf clubs to strike the ball from a teeing area into a hole some distance away. Whereas the club heads vary widely, most golf clubs include a shaft attached to the club head and a grip or handle attached to the upper part of the shaft to enable a golfer to hold and swing the club.
Typically a golfer grips the golf club with both hands, normally in close proximity to each other at or near the upper end of the golf club shaft. Conventionally the golfer's weaker, or non-dominant, hand is placed in an upper position, whereas the stronger, or dominant, hand is placed just below the upper hand. It is well known that control of the golf swing by the lower, or dominant, hand produces poor golf shots whereas consistent, powerful and accurate golf shots are produced when the non-dominant hand and arm control the golf swing. In order to promote a better feel of the hands on the club, a right-handed golfer normally places his left hand near, or at the upper end of, the handle and places the right hand just below, usually with the little finger of the right hand overlapping or interlocking the index finger of the left hand. This creates a feel in both hands and allows the hands to work both independently and together when executing a golf swing without the dominant hand exercising too much control.
Most conventional golf club grips are formed with an outside diameter that gradually tapers from the uppermost, or butt, end of the golf club shaft toward the club head end of the shaft, becoming progressively thinner as the grip extends from the butt end of the grip to the club head. When playing the game of golf, it is customary for a golfer's leading hand (that is, the weaker, upper hand that is closest to the target) to be placed on the grip closest to the butt end of the club shaft. The trailing hand, which normally is the golfer's stronger or dominant hand, is placed below the leading hand on the portion of the grip that is more tapered, or thinner. In these relative positions, the weaker leading hand is required to hold and control the largest portion of the golf club grip, whereas the stronger trailing hand holds the smallest portion of the club grip. Therefore, the positioning of the weaker, upper hand on the largest part of the golf club grip contributes to the difficulty of a golfer maintaining a solid hold on the golf club while executing a golf shot.
The inventor has determined the larger diameter of the grip at the upper butt section creates an interaction between the large diameter end of the grip and the palm of the golfer's hand creating a tendency for a golfer to lift the club when the club is gripped thereby setting an angle between the club shaft and the golfer's arms. Slow motion pictures of a golfer's swing reveal this angle is virtually eliminated at impact. Therefore, it follows that the golfer must alter his or her swing path to eliminate the set-up angle exist at address between the shaft and arms. In other words, the golfer must change the swing path and/or the spine angle during the execution of the golf swing to eliminate the set-up angle resulting from the interaction between the palm of a golfer's hand and the larger diameter portion of the grip at the upper butt end of the grip.
These additional swing movements increase the difficulty of executing a repeating golf swing thus requiring endless practice and repetition of the golf swing to produce a consistent, repeatable golf swing.
Conversely, because of the smaller size along the lower portion of the golf grip, it is difficult for the stronger hand to impart sufficient force to the club head to impart maximum flight and trajectory to the golf ball during the execution of a golf shot. The smaller portion of the golf grip tends to cause premature release of the trailing, stronger hand resulting in a wide variety of errant golf shots.
A number of attempts have been made to provide golf grips with configurations to enhance gripping of the golf club. U.S. Design Pat. No. 504,928 to Miller shows a golf grip that is tapered upwardly toward the upper end of the golf club. U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,850 to Garrity shows a golf grip having a non-tapered lower gripping section for the trailing hand and a smaller diameter section for only the little finger of the leading hand. U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,956 to Dagenais discloses a putter type golf grip including a lower grip portion having a greater diameter than a separate, detached upper grip portion.